CHN/KOR - Powerhouses outlast gutsy underdogs, now face off for ticket to London

OMURA (FIBA Asia Championship for Women) - It may have taken a furious fight for all 40 minutes, but favourites China and Korea are one step closer to booking a direct flight to London for next year's Olympics Games after semi final night at the 2011 FIBA Asia Championship for Women in Omura, Japan.

As is often the case at the FIBA Asia Championship for Women, these two powerhouses will meet each other for gold, with the added incentive this year of only one automatic Olympic qualification berth on offer.
 
Sunday's final pits two equally matched powerhouses together, both with size on the inside, athletes on the wings and shooters across the board. In the preliminary rounds Korea prevailed 99-93 in double overtime in the one of the classic games in tournament history. If the dose is repeated, whoever wins will have well and truly earned their trip to London next August.

Equally, the bronze medal game between Japan and Chinese Taipei will decide who keeps their Olympic dreams alive, with the winner progressing to the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament along with the silver medal winner. This game will feature two undersized and unorthodox teams who punch well above their weight, and should also be a thriller.

To make the final, China had to overcome a parochial home crowd and the never say die attitude of the Japanese team. The brilliance of Ma Zengyu, who nailed nine first quarter points, set up an early double figure lead for China, a bridge ultimately too big for Japan to cross.
 
That didn't stop them trying however, the brilliant back court of Yuko Oga (14 points, 4 assists) and Asami Yoshida (11 points, 8 assists) leading a ferocious trapping defence that gave China problems throughout. At one stage in the middle of the last quarter Japan closed to 11 points, only for the unlikely Gao Song to nail an enormous triple to steal the wind from the hosts sails.
 
From there, the experienced and mercurial duo of Chen Nan (21 points, 10 rebounds) and Miao Lijie (18 points, 4 assists) sealed a 76-62 victory that was in hindsight inevitable given the 34-16 rebounding difference.

Korea had an even tougher time as they booked a place in their 22nd FIBA Asia Championship for Women final. 
 
The Koreans have played in the past four Olympic Games, but throughout this contest they simply could not shake off a persistent Chinese Taipei, who have never played in the world's greatest sporting event, despite repeatedly building small leads which would disappear as soon as they had been gained.

Liu Chun-Yi  and Chiang Feng-Chun (both 15 points) were inspirational in the frontcourt for Taipei, but eventually the size of Korea's Sin Jung Ja (15 points), Kim Jung Eun (13 points) and the giant Ha Eun Joo (12 points) wore down their gallant opponents, 72-66, who may have achieved a different result if not for two botched lay-ups in the final minutes.
 
China have won 10 Asian championships, Korea 12, but only one of them will earn a ticket to London this Sunday in Omura.
 
FIBA